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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 290 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 290

Honoring the life and expressing the deepest condolences of Congress on 
    the passing of Edward Roybal, former United States Congressman.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 27, 2005

 Mr. Salazar (for himself, Mr. Bingaman, Mrs. Clinton, Mrs. Feinstein, 
 Mr. Kerry, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Obama, Mr. Reid, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Pryor, 
Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Reed) submitted the following resolution; which was 
                        considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Honoring the life and expressing the deepest condolences of Congress on 
    the passing of Edward Roybal, former United States Congressman.

Whereas Edward Roybal was born on February 10, 1916, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 
        and moved at the age of 6 with his family to the Boyle Heights barrio of 
        Los Angeles;
Whereas his pioneering efforts in the Congress for civil rights and social 
        justice on behalf of the elderly, Hispanics, and others has inspired 
        generations of Americans;
Whereas Edward Roybal attended public schools, graduating from Roosevelt High 
        School in 1934, and subsequently studying at the University of 
        California in Los Angeles and Southwestern University;
Whereas Edward Roybal is a distinguished veteran who served in the United States 
        Army during World War II;
Whereas Edward Roybal worked as a public health educator for the California 
        Tuberculosis Association, and eventually served as Director of Health 
        Education for the Los Angeles County Tuberculosis and Health Association 
        until 1949;
Whereas Edward Roybal founded the Community Service Organization in 1947 with 
        Fred Ross and a group of Mexican Americans forging a partnership between 
        the Mexican-American and Jewish communities of East Los Angeles, and as 
        the President of the organization, fought against discrimination in 
        housing, employment, voting rights, and education;
Whereas Edward Roybal was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 1949 and, 
        as the first Hispanic to serve on the city council in more than a 
        century, served for 13 years;
Whereas on November 6, 1962, Edward Roybal became the first Hispanic elected 
        from California to serve in the House of Representatives since 1879, and 
        served for 30 years;
Whereas during his 3 decades of service in the House of Representatives, Roybal 
        worked to protect the rights of minorities, the elderly, and the 
        physically-challenged;
Whereas during his tenure in the House of Representatives, Congressman Roybal 
        served on several important congressional committees, including the 
        Committee on the Post Office and Civil Service, the Committee on Foreign 
        Affairs, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and as the Chair of the 
        Select Committee on Aging;
Whereas in 1971, Congressman Roybal was selected to serve on the Committee on 
        Appropriations, where he remained for the rest of his tenure in the 
        House of Representatives and eventually chaired the Subcommittee on 
        Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government in 1981;
Whereas, while serving as a member of the Committee on Appropriations, Edward 
        Roybal was a powerful advocate for the funding of education, civil 
        rights, and health programs and was 1 of the first members of Congress 
        to press for and obtain funding for HIV and AIDS research;
Whereas Congressman Roybal was committed to providing opportunities for Spanish-
        speaking Americans, helped establish a Cabinet Committee on 
        Opportunities for Spanish-speaking people in 1968 with the goal of 
        improving education, housing, and employment opportunities for Spanish-
        speaking Americans, and authored the first education bill to provide 
        local school districts with assistance with special bilingual teaching 
        programs;
Whereas in 1976, the County of Los Angeles opened the Edward R. Roybal Clinic in 
        East Los Angeles;
Whereas in 1976, Congressman Roybal was 1 of the founding members and became the 
        first chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, a legislative service 
        organization of the House of Representatives that today is comprised of 
        21 Representatives;
Whereas Congressman Roybal was instrumental in the establishment of several 
        national nonprofit organizations dedicated to advancing and promoting a 
        new generation of Latino leaders, such as the Congressional Hispanic 
        Caucus Institute and the National Association of Latino Elected and 
        Appointed Officials; and
Whereas Congressman Roybal received numerous honors and awards, including two 
        honorary doctor of law degrees from Pacific States University and from 
        Claremont Graduate School, as well as the prestigious Presidential 
        Citizens Medal of Honor from President William Jefferson Clinton: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the United States Congress honors the trail-blazing 
life and pioneering accomplishments of Congressman Edward Roybal and 
expresses its condolences on his passing.
                                 <all>
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